The U.S. is the easiest place in the world for a criminal, terrorist, tax cheat, or kleptocrat to open an anonymous shell company to launder their money with impunity. Anonymous corporations are great ways to hide money and other assets — they can hold a bank account or buy a yacht. Criminals often layer anonymous corporations, with one owning another and so on, making it even harder for law enforcement to “trace the money” and figure out who is directing the company’s activity. It’s time to ending the use of anonymous shell companies as vehicles for illicit activity by requiring that the true owners of U.S. companies be disclosed at the time of formation and updated upon any change.
As faith leaders in Utah, we are concerned with a gaping hole in state and federal law that is having dire consequences throughout the state, country and the world. We feel it is time as citizens to call on our representatives to correct this oversight and give law enforcement the tools they need to protect us and our financial system. It is time to end the legal twilight zone where anonymous shell companies are used to protect criminals.
12 financial services trade groups sent a letter to the House lawmakers endorsing beneficial ownership disclosure.
The FACT Coalition filed a comment on January 2, 2018 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) supporting the agency’s proposal to mandate the disclosure of Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) numbers by public companies and their subsidiaries. The Coalition also urged requiring all public companies to obtain LEIs, ensuring that the LEIs are disclosed in a machine-readable format, and mandating that companies disclose all of their subsidiaries in their disclosures, rather than simply their “significant” subsidiaries.
The National District Attorneys Association sent a letter the U.S. House Financial Services Committee regarding the Corporation Transparency.
Jubilee USA Network sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee with thoughts and concerns regarding the Counter Terrorism and Illicit Finance Act draft. The letter was sent on December 6, 2017.
The FACT Coalition sent a letter to the leaders of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittees on Terrorism and Illicit Finance and Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit to be submitted to the official record of the November 29, 2017 joint hearing entitled “Legislative Proposals to Counter Terrorism and Illicit Finance.”
